Since the brawl, the Mariners and Angels have gone in completely different directions
This season has been filled with ups and downs for all 30 MLB teams, but for the Mariners and Angels the season arc has been particularly interesting.
As we sit Monday night the Philidelphia Phillies have reduced their magic number to one. Why should Mariners fans care? Well with one more Phillies win or a Brewers loss the longest playoff drought in major league baseball will belong to none other than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The baseball gods have a fantastic sense of humor.
The Mariners and Angels have had somewhat of a rivalry for many years, although neither team has been particularly stellar. On June 26 this rivalry heated up to the maximum when Angels manager Phil Nevin decided to throw an opener named Andrew Wantz. Wantz threw at Julio Rodriguez and Jesse Winker, causing the biggest brawl of the 2022 season.
The brawl was caused by Mike Trout's belief that Erik Swanson threw at his head the night before when that was not the case. Trout stayed near the back of the brawl he started, while many Mariners rushed to defend their teammates. What resulted was a handful of suspensions that looked like they could derail the then 34-40 Mariners season.
Players such as Jesse Winker, JP Crawford, and Julio Rodríguez were suspended. The Mariners could have mailed it in at that point, with a difficult part of their schedule incoming.
Instead, Seattle went ballistic, and just about a week later they started a 14-game winning streak that lifted them above .500. This run may not have been caused by the brawl, but it didn't hurt.
Since that point, Seattle traded for Carlos Santana, Luis Castillo, and others. They extended Julio Rodriguez and Castillo to a contract that could keep them in Seattle for the remainder of their careers, and have done nothing but win.
They ended the longest playoff drought in sports, and have established themselves as a contender in the American League for now and for many years to come.
Seattle is 47-25 since the brawl, and their counterparts from Los Angeles cannot say the same. The Angels started the season red hot, but have cratered following the brawl. Their record sits at just 31-46 since June 26, not even winning their last seven games could not save their season.
While Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout remain in Anaheim, not much else does. The Angels have an extremely large payroll, a farm system that has dwindled in talent, and an owner who is considering a sale.
Arte Moreno recently came out and stated intentions of "considering a sale" this offseason. In addition, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Angels would be sued by two Dominican teenagers. All of this is just gas on a dumpster fire.
The season finale against Los Angeles knocked them out of playoff contention, a nice consolation prize for Seattle.
The Angels club has completely fallen apart, and winning looks to be many years away at this point. Their drought should extend for years to come, Seattle on the other hand has ripped open a contention window as we have never seen in franchise history.